Bridge to Cephiro
by Thermopyle
Summary: A crossover between Ranma and MKR/Rayearth. Set in the Ranmaverse.
1. Day One

All Ranma characters belong in their original forms to Rumiko  
Takahashi. All Magic Knight Rayearth/Rayearth characters belong in  
their original forms to CLAMP.  
  
This story begins at the start of the Ranma manga. The setup for  
Hikaru and the other MKR characters is borrowed from the OVA, with  
some details being taken from the TV series. Just take for granted  
that things are pretty altered as far as the MKR and Rayearth side of  
this crossover is concerned. You'll see as you read.  
  
This is almost entirely set in the Ranmaverse.  
  
On to the story:  
  
Bridge to Cephiro: Day One  
By Thermopyle (thermopyle@tds.net)  
http://thermopyle.anifics.com/index.html/  
  
#####  
  
Ranma opened his eyes and light stabbed its way into his skull,  
punching through the other side. "That...hurts." He noted that his  
voice was female.  
  
"Are you okay?" The stranger's voice was also a light soprano, but  
still made his head throb.  
  
He was lying down on a futon, and a girl knelt next time him, leaning  
between him and the light. Her hair was red and a pigtail was visible  
over her shoulder. Her eyes, too, were crimson, and she was wearing a  
school uniform. She was cute, and about his age. She must be the new  
fiancée his pop was trying to take him to meet.  
  
His headache died slightly as she provided shade, his sensitive eyes  
better able to adjust. But it was still there, strong as a martial  
artist panda could inflict. "I ain't gonna marry you," he croaked.  
  
The girl leaned back, a shocked expression on her face, and the light  
and pain returned and stars blew themselves into smithereens, right up  
close and personal. "Ow." It wasn't as bad as before, but the panda  
was gonna get it.  
  
Ranma sat straight up, clutching his head. His breasts tried to drag  
his torso forward, snapping back and wobbling at the abrupt stop. He  
still wasn't used to the weight, damn the things. "What the hell did  
he hit me with? A sledgehammer?"  
  
The girl's face popped in front of his again and she looked rather  
outraged. "The panda? It was a street sign, actually. How bad does  
your head hurt? We checked, you aren't bleeding or anything."  
  
Ranma leaned back slightly. She sure was enthusiastic. "It's getting  
better." He looked around the room and saw girl stuff. There was a  
few kendo bokkens on display in the corner, though. He was alone with  
his new fiancée in his new fiancée's room. Typical Pop, dumping him  
in here right after they arrived.  
  
He eyed the girl warily. "Where is everybody else?"  
  
She blinked, looking confused for a minute, then smiled cheerfully.  
"Oh, they're out celebrating. They'll be back in a few hours. You  
want some Tylenol or something? I can go get it."  
  
"No, that's fine. I'm not marrying you."  
  
The girl grinned in response, then adopted a serious expression.  
"Okay. We don't have to get married if you don't want to. Are you  
sure you're okay?"  
  
"Yeah," Ranma said suspiciously. She was cute, but way too easygoing.  
It couldn't be that easy.  
  
Ranma put his hands to the floor and levered himself up. The pain  
escalated briefly and he teetered. The girl grabbed his shoulder and  
he steadied out, then he moved away from her as the pain subsided.  
Ranma picked up one of the bokkens, then looked over at her. They  
were the same height. "You do kendo? You any good?"  
  
The girl remained where she was, but seemed a bit flustered at having  
a stranger in her room playing with weapons. "Yeah," she said. "My  
brothers are better, but I did get a kendo scholarship. The school  
wanted to start a club, enter some tournaments." A brief flash of  
annoyance. "I'm going to a different school, though."  
  
Ranma grunted and put the stick back. "I've never fought a kendoist  
that was worth his bragging." Ranma saw that the girl looked a bit  
mad at that and was about to speak, but he cut her off. "What's your  
name, anyway?"  
  
She reined it in. "Hikaru. Hikaru Shidou," she said, and bowed  
slightly.  
  
Ranma returned the gesture. "Ranma Saotome."  
  
Hikaru waited until he finished, then said, "So you do kendo, then?  
You don't seem to have a very high opinion of those who practice it."  
  
"No, I practice the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."  
  
"That's not kendo?"  
  
Ranma studied her, doubtful. Hikaru was the daughter of his Old Man's  
training buddy? "No, it's a mix of different fighting styles,  
primarily barehanded, though some weapon use is taught as well."  
  
The girl nodded. "So are you any good? I'd offer to spar if not for  
your head injury. I'm better than everybody I know, except my  
brothers and father."  
  
"Yeah, I'm decent." Ranma grinned. "My head is fine now, if you want  
to try it."  
  
"Ah, I don't think that's a good idea." Hikaru laughed nervously.  
"You did get hit pretty hard and you only just now got up. It's been  
over an hour, you know, since that panda knocked you out."  
  
"If you're afraid you can't take it, that's okay," Ranma said, puffing  
his chest out slightly. "Don't blame it on me, though. I'm ready to  
fight, right now."  
  
Hikaru's smile was strained. "Well... are you thirsty? I can make us  
some tea and a small snack, then if you still want to spar afterwards,  
we can."  
  
Ranma brightened. "Yeah, I'm hungry. Lets do that."  
  
  
Ranma kneeled in front of the table, waiting impatiently for the tea  
and crackers. Breakfast had been early that morning, his father  
wanting to get back into Tokyo and to his friend's house, and they had  
skipped lunch. It was midafternoon now and he was used to eating at  
set times of every day. His stomach didn't like this whole missing  
meals thing at all.  
  
Hikaru entered from the kitchen, bearing a tray. The tea set was nice  
but not overly formal, which was a relief. He'd almost been expecting  
the girl to try to get into the whole engagement thing right away.  
She seemed far too compliant, despite her easy agreement to call  
everything off when he refused to marry her.  
  
Ranma stuffed some of the crackers into his mouth, dropped a few cups  
of the tea in to wash it down, then cleared his throat when he saw  
Hikaru staring at him.  
  
"Oh, sorry," she said. "I'm not used to seeing people eat like that.  
It's... different." She took a sip of her own tea. "Is there someone  
you need to call, do you need to let your parents know where you're  
at? They might be getting worried, if they heard about you being  
attacked by a panda. It was on the news before you woke up, but I  
couldn't find any kind of ID or a phone number on you, to call and let  
them know what had happened."  
  
"What?" Ranma stared back at the girl, who looked as confused as he  
felt. What was she talking about? "Isn't my Pop off celebrating with  
the rest of your parents?"  
  
Hikaru set her cup down and looked at him, seeming worried. "No, I  
don't know where your father is. Are you sure you feel okay? Maybe  
we should contact Dr. Tofu. You did get hit pretty hard."  
  
"No, I'm fine," he said, irritably. "What do you mean you don't know  
where my Pop is? He brought me here, right?"  
  
She shook her head. "No, after the people from the animal clinic  
tranquilized that crazy panda we checked you for injuries. Since you  
seemed fine my father carried you here, then my parents and brothers  
went to the after-tournament party. I decided to stay here to look  
after you, Ranma," Hikaru added.  
  
Oh. That explained things.  
  
"So," he said slowly, "you have no idea who I am, you've never heard  
of Genma Saotome, the animal clinic people hauled off the strange  
panda, and I'm not your fiancée?"  
  
Hikaru nodded. "Yes. Are you sure you're feeling okay? Or are you a  
lesbian?"  
  
"A WHAT?" Ranma shouted, and bits of cracker flew from his mouth.  
"No, no! I'm not a lesbian!"  
  
Hikaru looked comforted by that, but no less confused. "Then why do  
you keep asking if I'm your fiancée?"  
  
"Ah, well..." Ranma's hand went to the back of his head and he rubbed  
nervously. "That's kinda hard to explain." The ground shook and his  
teacup bounced off the table and into his lap, flipping upside down in  
the process. Suddenly Ranma was taller than Hikaru was.  
  
"Yeah, that's it," he said, his voice deeper, and Hikaru jumped to her  
feet, a hand pointing at him and eyes wide in horror.  
  
"How... how did you do that?" she stuttered.  
  
"It's a curse," he said simply. "I turn into a girl when splashed  
with cold water, and back when splashed with hot." Ranma ignored her  
staring and gulped down another sip of the tea. It didn't go down  
quite as easily with her looking at him like that. He didn't get up,  
not wanting to scare her even more. "So, where did that panda get  
taken off to?"  
  
"Well, but, but..." Hikaru stepped back until she was against the  
wall. "But you were a girl!"  
  
"Only for a bit," he insisted. "I was a guy earlier today. Now where  
is my Pop?"  
  
"Your Pop?" Hikaru sank down to her knees, still staring at him,  
thought she seemed to be recovering slightly. "The panda?" she  
guessed.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, they tranquilized him... My mom asked what they were going to  
do about it and they said they'd try to find where it came from, see  
if it had rabies or something like that to make it attack people. It,  
he, might get put to sleep."  
  
Ranma coughed up a few crackers, spraying small dry bits of the stuff  
across the table. "Put to sleep!?"  
  
"Yes. Panda's are endangered but they wouldn't let one go around  
attacking people." Hikaru was leaning forward now, studying him  
intently. "You really are the same person," she said, "you look like  
your own brother. Or sister, whichever."  
  
"Brother!" Wait, was that right?  
  
Ranma stood and Hikaru did the same, seeming less wary now. She still  
stared at him, though.  
  
"Where is the clinic?" Ranma asked.  
  
  
They walked down the sidewalk, squished next to each other by its  
narrowness and the telephone poles and fences that ran along each  
side. Hikaru had insisted on walking him, he didn't know why. Maybe  
she wanted to see his Pop, the trained circus panda, turn into a bald  
and ugly old man. He'd like watching it if not for his own curse. It  
was still funny even with that, really.  
  
"So do you really have a fiancée?" Hikaru asked.  
  
"That's what my Pop said. We were fighting over it when he knocked me  
out." He still couldn't believe the old bastard was trying to stick  
him with some girl he didn't know. She'd probably be some ugly chick  
who liked pokemon.  
  
Ranma was looking ahead, trying to see the clinic, but he still caught  
Hikaru's gestured affirmative from the edge of his vision. "My  
brothers were saying something about you marrying another girl when we  
carried you back to my house after I got the animal control people. I  
didn't believe it, though. They talk about that stuff all the time."  
  
"What?" Ranma turned to see that Hikaru's hair and skin tone was the  
same. "Oh. Nope. Not like that. So if your family is full of a  
bunch of hot-shot kendoists, how come none of 'em tried attacking the  
panda?"  
  
Hikaru shrugged. "You were winning. Why would they?"  
  
"Oh. Yeah, I was. Pop is sneaky, though." He really shouldn't have  
taken the whole playing-possum act as being real. His father was  
gonna be bugging him about that one for weeks.  
  
A few more steps, then, "How did you get cursed? You and your  
father?"  
  
"Um. My old man dragged me off to this training ground in China,  
without knowing anything about them. It was a buncha springs with  
bamboo poles sticking out of them, and you jump around on the tops as  
you fight. I knocked him in, he came out as a panda and smacked me  
into the spring of drowned girl. Then I chased him around a bit and  
we came back to Japan." Ranma frowned. "I should really just leave  
him where he's at."  
  
"You can't do that," Hikaru insisted. "He's your father, you have to  
be nice to him even if he isn't nice to you."  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, if you're coming along then  
you'll meet him in a bit. Then you can say whether you still believe  
that."  
  
"I'm sure I will." She smiled at him, then grabbed his hand, hard.  
"Let's go faster!" With a jerk to make him speed up, she started  
skipping, bouncing up and down cheerfully as she careened down the  
sidewalk, refusing to let go.  
  
"Hey! Quit that! Quit!"  
  
  
The animal shelter wasn't too far away, and when they arrived fifteen  
minutes later Hikaru was still refusing to let go of his hand or quit  
hopping around like a deranged and drunken bunny. She hopped her last  
hop and came to an abrupt finish. "Here we are," she said.  
  
He had just enough time to see that the sign said 'ANIMAL CONTROL' in  
big red letters, and then Hikaru walked right through the door, still  
dragging him along, a smile still upon her face.  
  
The building was made of white-painted bricks, the floor a smooth  
concrete. It made Ranma think of some of the men's locker rooms he'd  
been in, when they were empty, with puddles of uncomfortable water  
stagnating on the grey slab, walls radiating coldness, and an  
oppressive feeling of being naked. A pleasant place to work. His  
father was probably enjoying his stay.  
  
They went to the counter and waited while several people talked to the  
receptionist. They all talked at once and seemed to do better at  
confusing the woman than figuring out whatever their problems were.  
Ranma couldn't tell what was going on.  
  
After a little while everything was figured out and the group headed  
in different directions, some people following an orderly that showed  
up to guide them away, some leaving, and some sitting down in the  
small plastic chairs the room provided. Ranma and Hikaru stepped  
forward.  
  
"Can I help you?" asked the heavyset woman, who really wanted them to  
go away.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Ranma said. "I'm here to get my panda." He gestured to  
Hikaru with his free hand. "She said you picked him up earlier."  
  
"*I* didn't pick anything up, so don't blame me," was her sharp  
response. She picked up a phone and dialed four numbers, then chewed  
the ear off of whoever was on the other end. She hung up, then turned  
to the orderly, who had returned. "Take them to where that panda is.  
Dr. Fukima is there, waiting."  
  
"Right," said the orderly, who lead them off impatiently. The man  
took quick steps and Ranma was almost afraid that Hikaru would start  
skipping again in order keep up. She didn't, though.  
  
A few turns down a few identical hallways later and they came to a  
room with a huge cage. Inside a layer of hay a quarter of a foot deep  
covered the floor, and in the middle of the cage was his pop, knocked  
out and on his back in a dead man pose.  
  
The orderly left without a word and an older man who was almost as  
short as Hikaru introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Fukima," he said, and  
bowed.  
  
Ranma gave his own response, and then Hikaru did hers, a bit  
distracted by his pop. He guessed that was why she listed her blood  
type, interests, and hobbies, anyway, all said quickly while squeezing  
his hand even harder. Maybe she'd never seen a panda so close before?  
  
"So," Dr. Fukima began, sitting down on the stool he'd been positioned  
on when they entered, "who are you? I was told that some people were  
here to pick the panda up, a wonderful thing, I must say, because  
we've had a couple of reporters by asking what we were going to do  
about it, but I wasn't expecting a couple of high school kids."  
  
Hikaru finally let go of his hand and walked up to the cage, ignoring  
the doctor completely. "Wow! He's really big!"  
  
Fukima looked over at her with annoyance, then turned back to Ranma.  
"Do you even have some kind of ownership papers for this panda? I  
can't release him unless you do. The panda also needs to be picked up  
with an approved transportation method, you can't just walk him out of  
here on a leash, you know. Pandas aren't allowed on the streets like  
the common dog or cat, there are all kinds of rules about this."  
  
"Uh, no, I don't got any of that," Ranma said, following Hikaru over  
to the cage. She latched onto his hand again. "Is he alive? He  
doesn't look like it."  
  
"Of course he's alive!" The man sounded affronted now. "Look, I'm  
going to have to ask you to leave. You're obviously not qualified to  
be back here looking at the panda, let alone taking it anywhere."  
  
Ranma blinked at him, then opened the door to the cage. Hikaru let go  
of his hand again when he entered and approached the unconscious old  
fool.  
  
"Hey, wake up," he said, and kicked the panda lightly in the head.  
  
"Don't do that! Get out of there at once!" Fukima insisted. "That  
panda has been tranquilized heavily and will not be waking any time  
soon! Now you must leave, before I call security!"  
  
"Er, Ranma, I think maybe we should go get some hot water," said  
Hikaru, looking a bit nervously at the doctor.  
  
He grunted in response, and bent over. One arm slid under the panda's  
back as he heaved it upwards slightly to make room, and then the other  
curled around its stomach. Ranma stood, heavily, and lifted the panda  
up onto one shoulder. "Okay, let's go."  
  
Hikaru and Dr. Fukima both stared, open-mouthed, as he stepped out of  
the cage. Both of them just watched him walk past until he got to the  
door, which the orderly had closed behind him. The panda was too big  
for him to stand close enough to the door to reach the handle easily.  
  
Ranma looked back at the girl. "Hikaru, could you...?"  
  
Her jaws snapped shut with a loud click, and she winced. "Oh.  
Right!" She jumped forward and practically smashed the door open in  
her haste, then quickly stepped out into the hallway. Hikaru kept  
looking up and down the corridor as he maneuvered himself out of the  
room, the panda's bulk almost too big to fit through the opening.  
What was her problem?  
  
Whooh. His old man's cursed form was pretty heavy. There oughtta be  
some hot water around here someplace, to help lighten the load. He  
started walking back the way he thought they'd come from, keeping an  
eye out for restrooms along the way.  
  
Ranma heard Hikaru yell "Bye, Dr. Fukima! Nice meeting you!" and then  
a quick patter of feet later she was walking beside him again, the  
wide corridors granting enough room even with the large bear he was  
carrying around.  
  
"Um, are there any bathrooms on that side?" he asked, turning slightly  
to his right, where the panda blocked his view of everything. "I  
wanna dump some hot water on this guy."  
  
"Yeah, there's one up ahead, we passed it on the way over here. You  
can't do that, though! Your father could die!"  
  
Ranma looked left and the panda swung around in that direction until  
he caught it. Damn thing was heavy. "Why's that?"  
  
"Well, if he's sedated, and there's enough drugs in him to knock out a  
panda, changing him back could kill him!"  
  
Ranma frowned, guessing she would be looking for it. "You sure? If I  
just hit him with some hot water and kick him a few times, he'll  
probably wake right up."  
  
"Well, no, not really." Now she sounded unsure. Jeez, she wasn't the  
one carrying around an 800-pound panda. What was her problem?  
  
"Well, look," he said impatiently, "I gotta do SOMETHING with him. I  
can't just keep walking around with a panda on my back."  
  
Hikaru's footsteps stopped. "Turn right here."  
  
"Which way?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Gotcha." The turned and made their way down another hallway, and  
Ranma hoped she knew where they were going. That doctor guy had  
seemed pretty surprised and hadn't said anything about Ranma taking  
off with his pop, but the man might still recover in time to call  
security. It'd be hard to get past them, restricted as his movement  
was.  
  
"We'll go back to my house and wait for him to wake up," Hikaru  
announced abruptly.  
  
"What?" Ranma turned and the panda's head thumped against the brick  
wall. It twitched slightly and almost knocked him down. "Dammit.  
Never mind. Why? I don't think your folks will want a panda stinking  
up the place."  
  
"Well, you said you were going to your father's friend's house, right?  
And that you don't have a home of your own? Where else can you go?"  
  
"A park, where I can dump his heavy ass in a pond and watch him  
drown," Ranma replied immediately.  
  
"But you can't do that!"  
  
"Why not? If I'm willing to do something like that, it's because I  
got it from him."  
  
"You can't! He'll die!" Suddenly Hikaru jumped directly in front of  
him, looking furious. He stopped, and she poked him in the chest.  
"You WILL bring him to my house and let him wake up on his own!"  
  
Ranma stepped back slightly. Damn fingernails. "Okay, okay. We'll  
go to your place and wait 'till my pop wakes up. But if your parents  
get home before then, you get to explain what some strange boy and his  
panda are doing there."  
  
"Of course I will!" Hikaru turned around and lead the way again. Was  
this the right direction?  
  
  
Hikaru wasn't skipping this time, but they were still getting stares  
as they walked to her house. Probably the people looking all wondered  
about the crazy girl who'd gone bouncing down the sidewalk earlier.  
Couldn't be because of the panda on his shoulder, of course not. It's  
not like pandas were rare or anything, right?  
  
They arrived at the Shidou home and instead of going through the  
house, Hikaru lead him through fence door on the side, directly into  
the back yard. Within was a rock garden encompassing most of the  
yard, a pond and well-groomed grass pathways making up the rest of it.  
At the edge opposite the house was a large dojo.  
  
Ranma dumped his pop on the ground beside the pond, careful to place  
him in a spot where the rocks wasn't all artsy looking. Just a bunch  
of hard, round stones. Genma didn't wake up, so he shrugged. Oh  
well.  
  
Hikaru either hadn't noticed or didn't care, instead staring at the  
panda again. "What's he look like when he's a man?" she asked.  
  
"Um. He looks bald. Wears glasses, too. He's a guy, I dunno. Wanna  
splash him with hot water and find out?"  
  
She shook her head sharply. "No. We have to let him wake up on his  
own."  
  
He grunted. "Sounds boring. How many dojos are there around here,  
anyway? I know Pop was taking me to one, said his friend owned a  
dojo. Probably the same school, since they trained together."  
  
Hikaru poked his father in the forehead. No response. "He was  
probably taking you to the Tendous'. They live a little ways from  
here, near the school that I go to." Hikaru moved away from the panda  
and sat down on a bench near the pond. "There are three sisters,  
Akane and Nabiki both go to school with me. Kasumi is older, I think  
she's nineteen. You'll probably end up engaged to Nabiki, since Akane  
hates boys."  
  
Ranma sat on his father's stomach. Just the right height, and  
cushioned, too. "I ain't gonna be engaged to nobody. When my pop  
wakes up I'll beat the idea out of him."  
  
Hikaru grinned. "I believe you. You're very strong, being able to  
pick up your father like that."  
  
"Well, yeah, I'm the best!"  
  
Hikaru was quiet after that, and he turned to look at her. "What?"  
  
"Want to prove it?"  
  
Ranma stared at her. "You challenging me? Even knowing I can carry a  
panda for a fifteen minute walk?"  
  
"Yes," she said. Her face was serious now, not covered with the  
perpetual happiness that had seemed permanently etched on.  
  
"Why? You'll lose, ya know."  
  
"The school I'm going to only has a male kendo club," she said slowly.  
"I don't have anybody except for my brothers and father to spar with,  
and my father's students really aren't good enough for me to bother.  
Even if you don't do kendo, you will still be a better challenge then  
most of the people I know."  
  
Ranma smirked. "Well, I'm good enough. Okay. Don't say I didn't  
warn ya, though."  
  
Hikaru smiled back, and stood. "I'll remember you said that... when  
you lose!"  
  
"Oh, ha-ha."  
  
Ranma stood and started to walk to the dojo. Hikaru surprised him by  
heading back towards the house. "I'm going to go get changed," she  
said. "Feel free to look around. See how many trophies I've got!"  
she called before heading inside.  
  
Heh.  
  
The dojo was large and well built, yet very simple. The stained  
floors were shiny, the wood well-polished and smooth. A number of  
plaques adorned the far wall, and when he moved closer to inspect them  
he saw that they proclaimed various victories or placements in kendo  
tournaments. They were sorted by name, the smallest section belonging  
to Hikaru. Most of hers said she was the big winner.  
  
In each corner of that wall was a stand with trophies, with labels  
boasting the same thing. Maybe she would put up a good fight. She  
was awfully small, though. Then again, so was his girl form.  
  
"Intimidated yet?" Hikaru asked as she stepped into the dojo. She was  
dressed in a simple skirt and short, no longer in her school uniform,  
forgoing the usual protective getup that kendoist used when fighting  
each other. Made sense, since he wasn't going to be hitting her with  
some stick, and it made things fair.  
  
"Your brothers win a lot more tournaments," he goaded her. "Are you  
sure you're any good?"  
  
She grinned. "We'll see. Are you ready?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Yup," he said, walking to the center of the room,  
facing Hikaru.  
  
Hikaru stepped forward as well, stopping a short distance away from  
him. "How do you want to do this? I've never sparred with somebody  
who wasn't a kendoist before, so it feels a bit awkward." She  
blushed.  
  
Ranma shrugged. "It's just like any other sparring. You attack, and  
I'll take away your stick so you can't fight anymore."  
  
She looked a bit annoyed at that, but Ranma just settled into place,  
his hands behind his back as he waited patiently. "Anytime you're  
ready, begin."  
  
Hikaru took up an offensive stance. "Okay. I won't hurt you."  
Mischievous grin. "Not much, anyway."  
  
"So try it." Ranma studied the girl, waiting for her to begin.  
  
The edge of the blade almost caught him in the side, but he jumped  
backwards just in time. "Hey, you're pretty fast." That had barely  
missed.  
  
"You, too." Hikaru had a huge grin on her face, probably thinking it  
was gonna be that easy. She attacked again.  
  
Ranma bent backwards and the blade past over him at chest-height,  
nearly brushing against the buttons of his shirt. Damn things stood  
out like targets, they did.  
  
Ranma was again several feet away by the time the swing ended.  
"Close."  
  
A fast set of strikes drove him towards one of the walls and Ranma was  
forced to roll forward, to the side of Hikaru as she attacked. When  
Hikaru swung around to adjust to his new position she was had to jump  
back to avoid being kicked in the chest. Ranma let her extend her  
bokken again, this time in defense and with the wall at her back. She  
didn't look quite as confident now, but she was still determined.  
"Too fast for ya?" he asked.  
  
She smiled. "We'll see."  
  
This time it was Ranma who attacked, shooting forwards as quickly as  
he could. The tip of the opposing bokken lunged at him and Ranma  
twitched the side slightly, pushing a hand at the flat of the blade to  
shove it away as his other fist shot in at Hikaru's stomach.  
  
His hand missed, the bokken dropped and caught him in the side just as  
his fist hit Hikaru lightly in the abdomen.  
  
Ranma stared at her, and she just grinned back.  
  
"You're pretty fast," she said, "but I am, too."  
  
Hikaru looked up suddenly, her eyes widening, and Ranma kicked  
backwards in response. His foot smashed into a furry belly, which was  
knocked away. Ranma turned to see that his father was awake and  
completely enraged.  
  
[Ranma!] the panda's sign read. Flip. [How dare you attack your  
fiancée!] Flip. [You are no man!] Flip. Flip. [You are no man!]  
  
Ranma looked back at Hikaru, who was staring. "Um, Pop, she ain't my  
fiancée."  
  
[It's a matter of honor, son, and] flip [you must uphold the pledge!]  
  
"She's not my fiancée, you moron! We aren't at your friend's house!"  
  
Genma looked confused, and pointed a blank sign at Hikaru. [Then who  
is this?] said the sign in his other paw.  
  
Hikaru stepped forward, around Ranma, and bowed slightly. "My name is  
Hikaru Shidou, Mr. Saotome. It's nice to meet you."  
  
"Yeah, Pop, she's Hikaru. Where the hell do you get off engaging me  
to some girl when you don't even know what she looks like, anyway?"  
  
[Shut up, boy, it's a mater of honor!] Flip. [What the girl looks  
like doesn't matter.] The panda looked around. [What are we doing  
here?]  
  
"Oh," said Hikaru, "after the animal control people took you away me  
and my family brought Ranma here. When he woke up the two of us went  
and got you, then brought you back. Ranma didn't know where else to  
go," she added, disapprovingly.  
  
"Er, right. Pop, bad news. Those people at the pound..." Ranma  
looked at his father with all the sadness he could muster. He hoped  
it was enough. "The pound has a procedure they carry out on overly  
aggressive animals. We didn't get there in time."  
  
[...] Genma looked down, trying to see past his furry stomach. [NO!]  
  
"Ranma!" Hikaru scolded. "Don't tell him that!" She turned back to  
Genma. "Don't worry, Mr. Saotome, I'm sure they didn't take anything  
from you, nobody said anything about it." She hesitated. "We did  
leave in a hurry, though..."  
  
[NO!] Genma turned around and ran out of the dojo, a loud mewing,  
panicked sound escaping his massive jaws.  
  
Hikaru frowned at him, and Ranma grinned back.  
  
"Why didn't he just, um, check?" she asked, her face red.  
  
"Pop hasn't really figured out how not to use his claws yet. Checking  
could have REALLY done the job." Ranma followed his father outside,  
wondering what the old man was up to.  
  
"That was really mean," she said, also coming along. "How would you  
like it if he did that to you?"  
  
"He DID do that to me, only it wasn't just pretend. What do ya think  
it's like, turning into a girl all the time?" Moron deserved every  
bit of mental anguish he got.  
  
They stepped inside the house. The kitchen was on the left and open  
to the dining room, which is where the sliding glass door they entered  
lead. Genma was in front of the stove, a teapot already heating over  
a red eye.  
  
Hikaru turned around quickly when Genma dumped the water on himself,  
blushing once again. Ranma wondered if she'd just been traumatized  
for life.  
  
Genma immediately looked down, his hands dipping along to make sure.  
"It's alive! It's alive!" he cheered.  
  
"Couldn't you have picked a more private place for that, Pop?"  
  
His father turned around, and Ranma winced, averting his own eyes.  
Damn. "Get some clothes on, old man!"  
  
"Ranma! How dare you tell your poor father such horrible lies!"  
Genma rushed forward to attack, totally nude.  
  
"Aw, man!" Ranma ran back outside, waited till his father was near,  
then cannonballed into the pond, turning the man back into a panda.  
Ranma bobbed to the surface, breasts first and shorter. "Dammit, Pop!  
Don't do that!" He pushed himself to the edge of the pond, where his  
father waited, ready to attack.  
  
[Prepare to meet your maker, boy!] Flip. [Can you smell what the  
panda is cooking?]  
  
"You moron!" Ranma jumped out of the water, clearing the last few  
feet completely and landing in the rocks, ten feet away from the sign-  
wielding herbivore. "I can't believe you, saying something that  
stupid! I told you to quit watching that nonsense!"  
  
They jumped at each other and Ranma was hard-pressed to dodge Genma's  
attacks, the panda with the signs having much greater range. His  
father's speed dropped in that form, though, and Ranma's increased  
slightly, evening things out for the most part. Ranma was still  
unable to do much damage, though, the panda's heavy hide and thick  
bones making him almost invulnerable. He'd learned not to try hitting  
his pop in the head, since the blows went completely unnoticed.  
  
Ranma jumped forward and threw the rocks he'd picked up at the bottom  
of the pond. His father blocked with a sign, preventing them from  
hitting him in the eyes. Ranma used that to his advantage, kicking  
the sign as hard as he could, smashing it into his father's protruding  
nose. A definite weakness. The panda fell back, stunned, and Ranma  
snatched the sign and began wailing on his father with it, not  
allowing a recovery. Blow after blow drove Genma towards the pond  
until, with a final strike, his father toppled over, his footing  
unstable, a tidal wave washing over the rock garden and knocking  
stones in all directions. The panda floated to the surface, belly up.  
  
"Ha! Take that, ya bastard!" Ranma chucked the sign at his father's  
head and it bounced off, floating next to the waterlogged animal.  
[Can you smell what the panda is cooking?]  
  
"Um, Ranma?"  
  
"Yeah?" He turned to see that Hikaru was staring at him nervously.  
Behind her was a woman who could only be her mother, a grown-up  
version of Hikaru, the woman's hair unbound and falling down her  
shoulders whereas Hikaru's was braided. Three boys, each older than  
the other, were also present. One of them was staring at her chest,  
the others carefully weren't. An older man he guessed to be the  
father was on his knees beside Hikaru, looking around in horror.  
Ranma noticed suddenly that the formerly neatly organized rocks were  
scattered all over the place, sections of the garden flooded from when  
he and Genma had landed in the pond.  
  
"HI!" Ranma said cheerfully. Too bad. If this was where his father  
had been planning on bringing him, that plan woulda been busted for  
sure. Smile, smile.  
  
  
Hikaru's father wasn't anywhere near as stunned as Hikaru and that  
doctor guy had been to see Ranma pick up a panda. The man didn't even  
seem to notice, except that his target had gotten bigger. Ranma  
dodged frantically, the bokken everywhere as he tried to escape, the  
kendoist flailing at him in incoherent rage. Only the lack of control  
kept Ranma from getting smacked around, with the burden on his weaker,  
feminine shoulders, and even that left him running ragged.  
  
One of Hikaru's brothers tried to restrain their father and got  
knocked aside for his troubles, but it gave Ranma the chance to take  
off. He was through the fence gate before the man could recover,  
tossing a hurried wave in Hikaru's direction as he ran out and into  
the street. He kept going, even though it sounded like Hikaru's dad  
had gained a bit more resistance in his pursuit.  
  
Fifteen minutes later he came to a halt, panting, and dropped his  
father to the ground. Genma hit the pavement without waking and Ranma  
collapsed onto a bench, lying on his back, the bench just long enough  
for his diminutive frame. He'd thought carrying around a panda while  
in his guy form was bad, but doing it in his girl from while running  
just about killed him!  
  
He stared up at the sky, his chest movements slowly becoming more  
regular as he regained his breath. Okay. Doing better. So where did  
he go now?  
  
[Foolish boy!] flashed before his eyes, impacted on his face, and  
everything was gone.  
  
#####  
  
End of Day One. 


	2. Day Two

All Ranma characters belong in their original forms to Rumiko  
Takahashi. All Magic Knight Rayearth/Rayearth characters belong in  
their original forms to CLAMP.  
  
This story begins at the start of the Ranma manga. The setup for  
Hikaru and the other MKR characters is borrowed from the OVA, with  
some details being taken from the TV series. Just take for granted  
that things are pretty altered as far as the MKR and Rayearth side of  
this crossover is concerned. You'll see as you read.  
  
This chapter follows the previous one.  
  
On to the story:  
  
Bridge to Cephiro: Day Two  
By Thermopyle (thermopyle@tds.net)  
http://thermopyle.anifics.com/index.html  
  
#####  
  
Ranma stared as his fiancée attacked a group of obviously insane boys.  
The idiots were all dressed up in sports getups, most of them decked  
down in padding that made movement difficult, yet they still went  
charging at the girl like she was the only thing standing between them  
and paradise. But their shouted comments made it sound like they  
thought that paradise was her. Odd.  
  
All of the school's students, except for the ones fighting, were  
watching from the windows. Some of them were counting out seconds  
with their fingers. Nobody seemed upset about what was going on. Did  
this happen every day?  
  
There were only a few boys left so Ranma got ready to step forward and  
ask Akane what that was all about. Sure, his fiancée had declared  
that while at school they were pretend to not know each other, but  
wouldn't a stranger want to know anyway?  
  
"Ranma!"  
  
Hikaru was at one of the third floor windows, waving down to him.  
Everybody was looking at her now, except for the few punching bags  
that remained functional, and Akane, who was working on breaking them.  
The redhead went "Eep!" but continued to wave.  
  
Ranma waved back, tentatively. Akane didn't seem to notice.  
  
"You'd better hurry," Hikaru yelled down to him. "The bell's about to  
go off and you don't want to be late for your first day!"  
  
Well, he didn't really care, but...  
  
"Which room is 3-F?" he called up.  
  
She hung almost her entire body out to smile at him. "It's this one!  
Are you in my class?"  
  
"I think so." Check the distance. Not too far. Hell, he could jump  
that while carrying Akane. "Step back for a minute!"  
  
"What?"  
  
She moved away from the window, though, and Ranma bounced down to  
midway between the school wall and the building, then leapt up as soon  
as he hit the ground. His feet landed neatly on the window ledge, his  
hands at the top. Everybody stepped back to make room, big eyes all  
around.  
  
Hikaru grinned at him. "That was neat! It's a lot higher than I can  
jump."  
  
Heh. "I guess you aren't mad at me about the thing with your dad and  
the rock garden?"  
  
"Eh? No. No, Father is already planning to make it even better.  
Something about the way you messed the yard up inspired him to make a  
series of tiny rock waterfalls." She frowned. "Have you ever heard  
one of those? They're really loud."  
  
"Uh, well, sorry for that, then."  
  
She smiled again. "Oh, it's not your fault! He'll be in a good mood  
for a long time now, he always is when he has a project to work on."  
  
The door opened and suddenly everybody was in their desks, except for  
Hikaru and Ranma. Hikaru grabbed his hand and pulled him to the front  
of the room as the teacher walked in. "Mr. Tatsuya, this is the new  
student!"  
  
The man barely glanced at Ranma before replying, "Well, make your  
introduction and then you can sit next to Ms. Shidou, since that's not  
taken."  
  
"Uh, right." Ranma turned to the class, opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"His name is Ranma Saotome and he practices the Saotome School of  
Anything-Goes Martial Arts," Hikaru declared. "He moved here because-  
-"  
  
The door opened and Akane stepped into the room. Everybody looked at  
her.  
  
"You're late, Ms. Tendo. Please go stand in the hall," said Mr.  
Tatsuya.  
  
With a glare at Ranma, she did so. What was she mad at him for? The  
door slammed shut.  
  
"Ranma moved to Nerima because he's been engaged to Akane Tendo."  
Hikaru looked over at him when Ranma's palm smacked into his forehead.  
"That's right, isn't it? You didn't walk to school with Nabiki, so I  
just figured..."  
  
"Yeah, that's right."  
  
The door jerked back open and Akane started to step into the room,  
which was now in an uproar. What was the big deal?  
  
"The hall, Ms. Tendo."  
  
The door shut again.  
  
"Okay, Mr. Saotome, Ms. Shidou, please sit down, and we shall begin."  
The teacher's voice was deliberately loud and caught enough attention  
that a few people quieted down. Everybody else quickly did the same,  
Hikaru lead Ranma to his chair, and class started.  
  
Ranma explored the geography of his desktop while Mr. Tatsuya did the  
same for Japan. They were both boring, with lines of whatever  
crossing their surfaces. Contours of the land, Tatsuya said. Was  
this desk made of real wood?  
  
He looked around. Hikaru noticed and smiled at him, then returned to  
taking notes diligently. A few boys glared at him like his pop did  
after having a meal stolen. Some girls whispered to each other. He  
sighed and contemplated what lay beyond the window next to him.  
  
"WHERE IS SAOTOME?"  
  
The door burst open and a kid dressed in a kendo outfit stepped into  
the room. "Where is Ranma Saotome, that base peasant who would defile  
the gates of heaven?" the boy demanded. He held a bokken forward in  
an attack position.  
  
Gates of heaven? Ranma raised a hand. "Over here."  
  
The boy marched up to his desk, swinging the stick haphazardly to each  
side with every step. Most of the other students retreated to the  
opposite wall. The teacher sat quietly, saying nothing. What was  
with that?  
  
"What's up?" Ranma didn't stand yet. He didn't mind getting in a  
fight but trashing the classroom would only get him in trouble.  
  
"I forbid it!" declared the boy. "I will not allow this travesty of  
an engagement between you and the beauteous Akane Tendo!" The stick  
pointed at him menacingly. The boy looked around as if for outraged  
support and everybody stared at him with smug looks of superiority.  
They'd known first, of course.  
  
Ranma noticed that Akane was standing in the doorway, also watching  
quietly. Was this her boyfriend?  
  
"Who're you?" he asked.  
  
The boy posed magnificently. "I am a rising star in the field of  
kendo, the undisputed and undefeated King of Furinkan. I am-"  
  
"You're standing too close, Kuno-sempai," Hikaru interrupted.  
  
Kuno froze, looked down at the redheaded girl with disbelief.  
"Pigtailed goddess-"  
  
"You're standing too close, Kuno-sempai," she repeated.  
  
The boy hesitated, looked at Ranma with hate, back at Hikaru with  
adoration and confusion, then at Ranma again. "Very well. We will  
continue this later!" he told Ranma, then turned and marched out of  
the classroom. Akane stepped aside to let him pass.  
  
"You can sit down now, Ms. Tendo," Mr. Tatsuya said.  
  
Akane entered the room and sat a few desks back and to the side of  
Ranma. There was an empty seat next to her, even after everybody else  
returned to their seats. He was surprised that the teacher hadn't had  
him assigned him to sit there, since he was engaged to the girl.  
  
"Now, contours of the land," Tatsuya continued.  
  
  
Class let out for lunch. So far they'd had geometry, math, and  
English. Science and Japanese and gym were after the break. Even gym  
would be boring.  
  
There was a bento in his schoolbag. He was surprised, since his  
father had given the thing to him. If he'd had no lunch packed,  
wouldn't he have had to ask his fiancée to share hers? It was a  
missed opportunity on his pop's part.  
  
Ranma dropped out the window, hit the ground lightly, and looked  
around for a place to eat. There were already a number of student  
sitting in different locations, some groups small, some groups big,  
although most of them were just beginning to open up their lunches.  
They must have rooms on the ground floor, because Ranma's classmates  
weren't even outside yet, though they had all rushed out the door  
immediately. Even Akane and Hikaru.  
  
Ranma jumped up into a tree that nobody was eating near, grabbing a  
branch with one arm to steady himself. Then he scuttled his way to  
the trunk and sat where a clump of branches jutted out in seat-like  
fashion. Perfect.  
  
He was almost finished with the meal when he saw movement at the base  
of his lunch spot. A red head spotted through brown limbs and green  
leaves. It was alone. Looked like Hikaru, from what he could see,  
but with the way she'd run off right away he had figured she was going  
to eat with some friends.  
  
Ranma snapped his bento closed and descended the tree quickly,  
stopping just above the girl. Yup, nobody there but Hikaru. He  
dropped to the grass a few feet away from her, sitting cross-legged  
upon landing. "Hey."  
  
Hikaru froze, chopsticks halfway to her mouth, and stared at him.  
Musta surprised her. She smiled. "Hi!"  
  
"So how come you ran off right away? I thought you had a lunch date  
or something."  
  
"Oh. Well." Hikaru made a show of looking around, so Ranma did too.  
A few people had their heads turned in their direction. Akane's was,  
too, and she seemed annoyed. "I thought it might be better if you  
found someone else to eat lunch with."  
  
What? "So how come you weren't eating with your friends, then?"  
  
"I don't have any friends," she said quietly. "Not here, anyway. So  
how did you end up engaged to Akane?"  
  
"Um. My pop was pretending to be knocked out again, as soon as I put  
him down and turned away he hit me in the head with a sign and dragged  
me off to the Tendous. I was still in my girl form," he added. "Oh,  
Akane, you hate boys, and he's half girl! He's perfect for you!" he  
mimicked.  
  
Hikaru laughed. "That sounds like Nabiki."  
  
"Yeah, well... After that the macho chick smashed me in the head with  
a table. It was heavy, too." Ranma rubbed the top of his head, which  
was still a bit sore.  
  
She grinned. "Didn't damage anything, I hope."  
  
"Eh? No, I'm used to it. That was the third time I got knocked out  
by a blow to the head yesterday. It gets old."  
  
"And now you're going to school with your fiancée. How romantic!"  
Hikaru had little hearts in her eyes.  
  
"It's not funny!"  
  
She laughed again. Ranma noticed the moron in the kendo garb glaring  
at him from thirty feet away.  
  
"How would you like it if you were engaged to Kuno?" he asked.  
  
Hikaru stopped. "Okay, it's not funny." She frowned, glanced over at  
the kendoist. "Kuno is a bit crazy. Well, a lot," she clarified.  
  
"Yeah, I guessed that from the outfit. Is he any good?"  
  
"I'm better, but yeah. Except for me, Kuno-sempai really is  
undefeated."  
  
Ranma nodded. "I guess that means I'm better than him, then, since I  
can beat you."  
  
"You didn't beat me! I got you at the same time!"  
  
He snickered, looked over at Akane. "'That didn't count, I wasn't  
ready!'"  
  
Hikaru followed his gaze. "Ah. She said that? You sparred with  
Akane, then?"  
  
"Yup. She tried this whole 'Wanna be friends?' routine when I showed  
up, but since you said she hated boys I changed into my guy form  
before she could get the wrong idea. Then she insisted on fighting  
me. She lost." Rather bitchily, too.  
  
"Akane gets mad easily," Hikaru agreed. "She seems nice with her  
friends, though. It's just boys and anybody she has reason to dislike  
that she's mean to."  
  
"And I'm a boy, and her unwanted fiancé."  
  
"Yes, that's exactly what you are."  
  
Heh. "Could be worse, Pop coulda engaged me to a guy." He would have  
died for it, too. The old man wasn't that stupid.  
  
"Mr. Tendou's wife is dead, isn't she? He's unattached." Big grin.  
  
"That's sick."  
  
Hikaru looked at her watch and Ranma noticed that a number of people  
were standing, getting ready to go back inside. "Class starting back  
up?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, in a few minutes."  
  
"Great. I love class." He just loved sleeping more. And fighting.  
And eating. Class was in there somewhere.  
  
  
Gym was boring. A few tricks on the beam and everybody breaks into  
applause and acts like it's the Olympics. Well, except for the lack  
of competition.  
  
After the teacher had them run through various exercises they were  
released to pursue some form of private competition. All of the guys  
wandered over to watch the girls' baseball game. Two of them  
introduced themselves to him.  
  
"Hi, I'm Hiroshi!"  
"Hi, I'm Daisuki!"  
  
They were poorly drawn characters and he couldn't tell the difference  
between them, not really. But they were the first two people other  
than Hikaru to not keep some kind of odd distance from him. It was  
weird.  
  
So they sat under a tree, enjoying the shade and the way the sun  
didn't glare into their eyes while they watched the girls. His two  
new friends kept up a running commentary on each one as she went up to  
bat, or if that girl was ugly, discussed one on the defensive team.  
But mostly they talked about Akane and Hikaru.  
  
"So how long have you been engaged to Akane, anyway?"  
  
"Is this some kind of shotgun wedding? Did you two meat at a  
bathhouse and forget to use protection?"  
  
"Hey, you're friends with Hikaru, right? Do you have any of her  
panties? I've been wanting a pair of those."  
  
"Yeah, me too!" said the other one.  
  
The teams switched, Akane going in to be first at bat. What were her  
sizes? No, he didn't know.  
  
"Hiii, Ranma!"  
  
Hikaru was in left field, waving to him again. He waved back and a  
ball smacked him in the eye.  
  
"Wow, I thought you were a martial artist?"  
  
"Couldn't you have dodged that?"  
  
  
Ranma walked out the school gates and Kuno was standing there in front  
of him. Akane and Hikaru had both disappeared after everybody went to  
change and shower, class ending for the day. The redhead had said she  
needed to go home right away and would see him tomorrow. But Mr.  
Loony Toons himself had arrived.  
  
"Yo," Ranma said. His injured eye was swollen and teary. Wonderful  
time for this.  
  
Kuno's bokken pointed at him like some obscene version of Pinocchio's  
nose, tattling of perverse thoughts instead of lies. "Halt, foul  
villain! The time has come at last for a final showdown! You, who  
hold no decency, will be struck down for your crimes against the  
beauteous Akane Tendo, and for hounding the pigtailed goddess!"  
  
The boy attacked, his bokken blurring, everywhere as Ranma dodged  
frantically. He was fast! Hikaru had beaten him?  
  
A strike's distance was misjudged, vision through salty water being  
the culprit, and a blow smashed into Ranma's side, knocked him back  
through the school wall and into the courtyard. That hurt, just a  
bit.  
  
Ranma stood. Kuno was charging forward, yelling something about a  
finishing blow. The rhythm of fast attacks the boy had established  
was broken up; instead there was just a blind forward run. Ranma  
attacked.  
  
Kuno was starting the first in his pattern of fast bokken strokes when  
Ranma's foot caught him in the chest, then slammed repeatedly into  
softer parts of the body. Kuno went down.  
  
He stared at the boy. Even in unconsciousness Kuno mumbled about  
fighting on. What an idiot.  
  
  
Dr. Tofu's door stood open, inviting in any patients who happened to  
need assistance. Ranma considered. The bruise wasn't that bad. It'd  
be gone by morning. Same with the black and slightly swollen eye.  
Better to just leave things as they were.  
  
He continued on towards the Tendous, strolling along the fencetops.  
His pop was gonna demand to know why he hadn't walked his fiancée home  
the minute Ranma stepped in the door, he knew. Then Mr. Tendou would  
wail like a banshee, protesting the cruel fates that would leave his  
daughter an unmarried widow, however that worked. The pair were  
bizarrely suited to each other.  
  
Ranma stopped. The canal he'd knocked his father into was right below  
him, opposite the sidewalk. On the other side of the water was a  
park. Hikaru was there, near the far edge of the canal, reading under  
a tree.  
  
He frowned, then continued walking. She hadn't rushed home to study,  
obviously. He'd ask her about it later.  
  
#####  
  
End of Day Two. 


End file.
